Those Red High Heels (24 page)

Cade grabbed me and pulled himself against me. A huge part of me was yelling for him to stop, to wait for later tonight, but the other smaller part was shouting louder that I couldn’t wait for a man who wasn’t mine. “Don’t stop,” I said while trying to get my hands under his shirt. Cade was a very good-looking man. He was quite a bit older than I was, but that also made him have a more distinguished look about him. He also would probably be really good in bed, or on a table.

Cade pushed me down on the table, so I was lying flat on my back. He leaned down and started to kiss me in a way that had me wishing we were in a different location, so we could just strip all of our clothes off. When he reached my inner thigh and started kissing a trail up my leg, I let out a moan that only increased his want. I sat up, while he continued to kiss me, and unbuttoned his shirt, feeling his toned chest, and wishing I could see him better. He started to push my dress completely up around my waist when voices interrupted our moment and had us both jumping down, kneeling onto the ground. I really didn’t want to be the horny teenagers caught doing it at their best friend and brother’s wedding.

I almost thought the voices were going to pass by, but they only became louder.

Cade looked over at me and put his finger up to his mouth. As long as they didn’t turn the light on, we would be safe from being seen. I started to pull my dress down but Cade shook his head and knelt up against me, kissing me again like he couldn’t get enough. I tried to be quiet, but if he kept doing what he was, I would definitely give away our location. I pushed him away and waved my finger back and forth. I held up my hand and pointed to my wrist, showing him to give these people a few minutes, but when the hushed voices got louder, I knew they weren’t going anywhere. Maybe they were looking for a private location, just like Cade had.

When I finally could make out what they were saying, I stopped moving and became keenly aware of every word. It was a male and female, and I was ninety-nine percent sure the female voice belonged to Nora. I had no clue who the male voice belonged to, but it was for sure not Greyson's. He almost sounded like he had a Spanish accent.

“Dammit, this was the only way I could talk to you.”

“Are you kidding me? Showing up at a wedding at the Pierre is how you want to talk? Greyson is right outside in the ballroom. What if he comes looking for me? You’ll ruin everything!”

Cade looked over at me and raised his eyebrows. I mouthed ‘Nora’ and shrugged. He did the same and we both started listening intently in on their conversation.

“I don’t care anymore, Nora. I want you to come with me, to live with me. I should be the one taking care of you while you’re pregnant. Not some guy who isn’t even the dad.”

I sucked in a breath and Cade shoved his hand over my face. I’d almost given us away, but Nora and the mystery man started talking again, so they must not have heard me.

“Jax, you know I want that. I love you, but for this to work, we need Greyson. I’m so close to getting the company that I have always wanted, and the extra money we get from him won’t hurt. When the baby is born and I tell him I want to leave, you know he’s going to want a paternity test. That’s why the forged one will need to be ready. When he gets the test back that says he’s the dad, we can be together. Until then, you need to stay away from events I’m at. You’ll blow everything.”

Jax? Wait, they were going to trick Greyson into thinking he was the dad?
Greyson’s not the dad, Greyson’s not the dad of Nora’s baby. What the hell’s going on?
I was about two seconds away from standing up and screaming at the two-faced bitch, when Cade placed his hands on my shoulders and shook his head. He must have been able to read me, and knew I was close to coming unglued.

“I don’t want some other guy taking care of you. You’re mine, that baby’s mine. My band is really taking off, and I know we’re about to be signed. I’m not waiting tables anymore. I can support you.”

Nora let out a laugh. I suddenly felt bad for this guy, but it sounded like he genuinely cared about her for some strange reason.

“I want to stay with this plan. Please. If you really do love me, then you need to let this play through. Six months, that’s all we need.”

There was a little pause, and I thought they might have left the room until I heard a distinct kissing noise. I covered my mouth and tried not to let a laugh escape while Cade was pretending to push his finger down his throat. What seemed like minutes, but was probably only a few seconds, Nora started to talk again.

“I need to get back, but I’ll try to meet you somewhere tomorrow. Greyson is going to help Collin out with something before he leaves on his honeymoon, so that should give me a few hours alone. I’ll call you, okay? Now go, before someone sees us.”

When we heard their footsteps making their way out of the room, I accidentally bumped into one of the chairs behind me.

“What was that?” Jax asked and stopped right by the door. Cade didn’t move, so I stayed crouched down, holding my breath, hoping I didn’t give us away at the last minute.

Thankfully, Nora told him he was being paranoid and pushed him out of the room. A few seconds later, Cade peeked over the table and looked to where Nora and her secret lover, Jax, had been standing.

“That was unreal. Can you believe what we’ve heard?” Cade asked in a hushed voice, and helped me stand up. “She’s using Greyson, and because he’s a nice guy, he believed everything she said.”

“We need to tell him. I can’t believe the baby’s not his, he’s not having a baby with Nora. I knew she was a complete psycho, but this took her to a whole new level of crazy.” The door to my future slowly started to open again, and I suddenly felt guilty that I wouldn’t be able to be with Cade tonight. I knew he wanted to, but I couldn’t now, knowing the truth about Nora’s baby. Maybe Greyson and I could possibly be together. Hope filled my heart, and I instantly wanted to run to him, shouting the truth, but I knew that wouldn’t be the way to handle it.

Cade helped me get my dress back to looking normal, and started to walk with me out of the room. “What are we going to do? How are we going to tell Greyson the truth?”

Cade put his hand in mine, and it felt like a lead weight was placed there instead. I had to tell him about Greyson, that I was in love with him. Wait. Was I in love with him? It sure felt like love, or a really ridiculous case of lust. “Look, Cade. I need to tell you something.” Before I could finish my sentence, I noticed a red haired lady waiting around the corner when we stepped out of our secret room. Nora was waiting, and she saw Cade and me walk out of the same room she had been in with her secret lover. Her eyes went wide and she took off quickly, back toward the ballroom.

“Shit, she saw us,” I said and motioned toward the spot Nora had been standing in.”

“She must have heard the chair, too. She wanted the Spanish guy out of here.”

I looked over at him with a surprised look. “He was Spanish, huh? I knew it, I could hear his accent.”

“It was thicker than a donkey’s dangler.”

I let out a loud laugh and turned to face Cade. “What? A donkey’s what?” His saying was so out of the blue, that it made me laugh at a time where that was the last thing I should be doing.

“Sorry, it’s a saying we use in Cali. Maybe not so suitable for New York.” I shook my head and decided it was time to tell him about Greyson.

“So, as I was saying earlier. I need to tell you something. Something that involves me and Greyson.”

Cade brushed a hair that had fallen out of my French twist, probably when he had me pushed down against the table. “I already know. Don’t be mad, but Brynn may have told me a few things that happened between you two. I didn’t want to step on his toes, but Brynn informed me it was my job to take your mind off him for at least the weekend. I was happy to oblige, because I seriously couldn’t get you out of my mind. I wouldn’t have needed Brynn to tell me to sweep you off your feet, because I was already planning to. So, don’t be upset. Okay?”

I wasn’t the least bit upset with Brynn, but I was only thinking about Greyson. He was going to be devastated when he heard Nora had been lying to him the whole time, and he had been going through hell so Nora could feel secure with her secret Spanish lover, Jax, and their love child. It made me sick thinking about it. I knew we had to tell him, but I also knew Nora saw that we were in the room with her.

“Come on, we need to find Greyson.”

Cade held me back and looked down into my eyes. “You’re going to tell him tonight? During Brynn and Collin’s wedding? Could you imagine the chaos that is going to cause? I think we should find him tomorrow and tell him then. Nora said that he was helping Collin with something, and I most likely will be there.”

I looked at him suspiciously. “Are you guys planning a surprise for Brynn, or something?”

Cade pretended to be shocked and instantly gave himself away. They were planning something. “Well, let’s do it then. Brynn won’t be around, and we can do it quietly. He needs to know, Cade.”

“I agree. Tomorrow it is. Come on, let’s go get a drink and make a plan on exactly how we’re going to break the news to him.”

“I hope Nora doesn’t do anything crazy until then. I know she saw us. Hopefully she thinks I’d be afraid to say anything because she’s so powerful.”

Cade looked at me with a confused expression, but I waved him off and told him not to worry about it.

“How about you go and grab our drinks while I go and find Collin to tell him about the change of plans tomorrow. I’ll tell him that you’ll be there and to not be shocked. He’ll try to get what I know out of me, but I won’t say a word. I’ll see you in a minute, okay?”

“Okay.” While I was walking over to the bar, thinking about how we were going to break the news to Greyson, I noticed someone coming up very quickly to me. When I noticed it was Greyson himself, I thought maybe Nora had broken down and told him the truth.

“Greyson, hi. Are you okay?” Greyson did not look okay. He looked seething mad. I had never seen him with an angry face before, and I didn’t like it. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

Greyson grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side, so we would be out of earshot of the other guests. “Are you really going to act like nothing is wrong?”

“Excuse me?” I asked, not knowing what the hell was going on.

“I really thought I knew you, Emma. I thought we felt something strong for each other, but this? Acting so childish, and upsetting Nora like that? I know she can be rough, but it’s something that’s between her and me. I don’t need this kind of behavior from you.”

“Greyson, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Greyson pinched his nose with his fingers and closed his eyes. A thought suddenly popped into my head that Nora must have ran to him and told him a lie. A lie that was obviously about me.

“What did Nora tell you?” I asked quietly, already knowing that whatever story Nora had told Greyson, it was going to be very hard to change his mind.

“She’s hysterical. She told me that she was washing her hands in the restroom, and you came in telling her that we were meant to be together, and that you were going to do anything it took to make me yours. Something about telling me that you had proof the baby wasn’t mine, and how she has some secret Spanish lover? A story that was so far-fetched, I couldn’t believe you would really think I would believe something like that.”

That dirty bitch. She took her exact situation and made it impossible for me to be able to tell Greyson the truth. “That’s because the baby isn’t yours, and she is having an affair with a Spanish guy named Jax.”

Greyson shook his head at me and had a look of betrayal cross his face. “I can’t believe you, Emma. I guess you aren’t the woman I was falling in love with. I need you to stay away from Nora. It isn’t good for her to be upset like this while she’s pregnant. Any chance that we did have for a future, is now gone.” When Greyson turned to walk away, my tears started to fall down my face, and there was nothing I could do about it. Nora played him like a fiddle, and none of us stood a chance. It didn’t matter what I said; he thought I had confronted Nora in an unbelievably horrific way. Apparently, he had been around crazy for too long, and didn’t realize there were still normal women out there.